may the Hendathi's tribe increase

 none other than Purandara dasa sang this song.

Adadella vollithe Ayittu

Namma Sridharana sevege sandhana sampt ayittu

Dandige betha hidiyyuvudakke, Mande Machi Nachuttide,

Hendathi Santathi Seviravagali, Dandige betha hidisidal ayya!

Gopala Butti hidiyuvudakke, Bhopathi garvisuttide,

Aa patani kula saviravagali, Gopala butti hidisidalayya!

Tulasi Malaya hakuvidikke, Arasanagi nachuttide

Sarasijaksha Purandara vitalanu, Tulasi male hakisiddanu!!

All that happened, happened for the good. It paved the way for the treasure of Sri Hari Seva!

To hold the Dhande I used to shy away, turning my head in distaste. May the tribe of my wife increase  a thousand fold. She made me hold the Dhande!

To hold the Gopala butti, I used to shy away, thinking of myself to be a Lord on this earth! may the tribe of my wife increase a thousand fold! She was the one who made me hold the Gopala butti.

To wear the tulasi mala, I used to shy away, thinking of myself to be a great King! That lotus eyed Purandara vittala himself made me wear this tulasi male!

the greats

 Angiras, Bhrgu, Gargi, Ghora Angirasa, Haridrumata, Mahidasa Aitareya, Narada, Pippalada, Raikva, Sanatkumara, Sandilya, Satyakama Jabala, Uddalaka, Aruni, Vamadeva and Varuna.

Yama the God of death, Prajapati the creator, great kings like Janaka, Ajatasatru and Pravahana Jaivali also appear in the role of teachers. All of them were revered for their knowledge and excellence irrespective of their birth caste or sex.

What an Ex

 The Upanishad make it incumbent on the Guru to teach spiritual wisdom to a worthy disciple, after testing him if necessary.

The disciple should then practice manana reflection and nidihyasana meditation on the atman which will result in anubhuti or realisation.

What is the nature of the spiritual experience that an aspirant gets when he realises the atman?

He sees all beings in himself and himself in all. Hence he feels neither special attraction nor repulsion for others. Behind every thought of his, he is able to feel the power of the atman, the pure consciousness. He clearly perceives that all the bonds of his heart which had him tied down to this mundane existence, have broken down. He experiences great joy and bliss within himself. When he directs his attention outside, there too he sees the same spirit, the atman, the Brahman.

the bliss he experiences is incomparable superior to any other happiness one can get in this world. He will never have any type of regret for anything in life. He may even roam about the world in a joyous state, declaring his benefits for the benefit of others. This is what the Alwars experienced. 

V U

 Vidya                                                                Upanisad.

Aksipurusa                                                        Chandogya 4.15.1

Antaraditya                                                        Brhadaranyaka 5.52.

Bhuma                                                               Chandogya 7.23.24.25

Dahara                                                               Chandogya 8.1

Gayatri                                                               Chandogya 3.12

Madhu                                                               Chandogya 3.1-11

Panchagni                                                         Chandogya5.3 to 10 Brhadaranyaka 6.2

Paryanka                                                           Kausitaki 1

Pranagnihotra                                                   Brhadaranyaka 5.9

Pratardana                                                         Kausitaki 3

Purusha                                                            Chandogya 3.16, 17

Sad                                                                    Chandogya 6.2.1, 2

Samvarga                                                        Chandogya 4.3

Sandilya                                                            Chandogya 3.14

Udgitha                                                            Brhadaranyaka 5.8.1

Upakosala                                                        Chandoga 4.10to 15

Vaisvanara                                                        Chandogya 5.11 to 17.

vajrasucika upanisad

 sama veda 9 mantras.

This is a small Upanishad in prose ecept for the first mantra.

It asks the question. Who is a brahmana? and answers it.

The body, the individual soul, birth, knowledge, work, religious duties - none o0f these makes one a brahmana. It is character that makes a person a real brahmana.

One who has realised the Self, the one without a second, who is therefore free from all faults and defects, is a real brahmana. Peace of mind absence of desire, jealousy and delusion, as also egoism are his characteristics.

The text closes with the exhortation to one and all to become a true brahmana by realising Brahman.

GD

 ॐ पार्थाय प्रतिबोधितां भगवता नारायणेन स्वयं व्यासेन ग्रथितां पुराणमुनिना मध्ये महाभारतम् ।

अद्वैतामृतवर्षिणीं भगवतीम्- अष्टादशाध्यायिनीम् अम्ब त्वामनुसन्दधामि भगवद्- गीते भवद्वेषिणीम् ॥ १॥

Om Parthaya prathi bodhithm bhagawataa naaraayanena swayam, Vyasaena gratitaam Puraana muninaa madhye Mahabaratam

Advaitamruta varshaneem bhagawteem ashta dashaa dhyayineem, Ambaa twaam anusandadhaami bhagavad geete bhava dweshineem.

नमोऽस्तु ते व्यास विशालबुद्धे फुल्लारविन्दायतपत्रनेत्र ।

येन त्वया भारततैलपूर्णः प्रज्वालितो ज्ञानमयः प्रदीपः ॥ २॥

Namosthuthe Vyasa vishala buddhe, phullaravindayatha pathra nethra

Yena tvayaa Bhaarata thaila poorna prajvalito jnanamayah pradeepah.

Salutations O Vyasa(the author), one with the great intellect, with eyes like the fully blossomed lotus

Through whom, the lamp of light is filled with oil of knowledge.

प्रपन्नपारिजाताय तोत्रवेत्रैकपाणये ।

ज्ञानमुद्राय कृष्णाय गीतामृतदुहे नमः ॥ ३॥

Prapanna paarijaataaya , totra vetraika paanaye

Jnaana mudraaya Krishnaaya geetamrita duhe namah.

Salutations to Krishna, the bestower of all desires of the desirees.

The holder of JnanaMudra, the milker of the Elixir of Bhagavad Gita.

सर्वोपनिषदो गावो दोग्धा गोपाल नन्दनः ।

पार्थो वत्सः सुधीर्भोक्ता दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत् ॥ ४॥

Sarvaopanishado gaavo dogdhaa Gopala Nandana

Partho vatsah sudheer bhoktaa dugdham Geetamritam mahat.

All the Upanishads are cows; the Milker is Krishna, the cowherd boy;

Arjuna is the calf; Wise and pure men drink the milk, the supreme, immortal nectar of the Gita

वसुदेवसुतं देवं कंसचाणूरमर्दनम् ।

देवकीपरमानन्दं कृष्णं वन्दे जगद्गुरुम् ॥ ५॥

Vasudeva sutam devam kamsa Chanoora mardhanam

Devaki paramaanandam Krishnam vande Jagad Gurum.

O son of Vasudeva, O Lord who destroyed Kamsa and Chanuura

O Joy of mother Devaki, Salutations O Krishna, the teacher of the world.

भीष्मद्रोणतटा जयद्रथजला गान्धारनीलोत्पला शल्यग्राहवती कृपेण वहनी कर्णेन वेलाकुला ।

अश्वत्थामविकर्णघोरमकरा दुर्योधनावर्तिनी सोत्तीर्णा खलु पाण्डवै रणनदी कैवर्तकः केशवः ॥ ६॥

Bheeshma drona thata jayadratha jalaa , Gandhaara neelothphala, Shalyagrahavatee , kripena vahanee , karnena Velaakulaa

Aswathama Vikarnaa ghora Makaraa Duryodhana varthinee, Sotheerno khalu Pandavai , rana nadhee kaivarthakah Kesavah.

Bheeshma, Drona were the two banks , Jayadrada was the water, Shakuni (king of Gandhara) was the blue lotus, Shalya was the crocodile , Kripa was the tide , Karna was the mighty wave.

Aswathama and Vikarna were the dangerous alligators, Duryodhana was the whirlpool, Pandavas crossed this river of war with Krishna as their helmsman.

पाराशर्यवचः सरोजममलं गीतार्थगन्धोत्कटं नानाख्यानककेसरं हरिकथा- सम्बोधनाबोधितम् ।

लोके सज्जनषट्पदैरहरहः पेपीयमानं मुदा भूयाद्भारतपङ्कजं कलिमल- प्रध्वंसिनः श्रेयसे ॥ ७॥

Paraasharayavacha sarojamamalam Geetartha gandothkatam, Nanakhyanaka kesaram harikatha sambodhanaa bodhitam

Loke sajjana shat padairaharaha pepeeyamaanam mudaa, Bhooyad Bharatha pankajam kali mala pradhwamsinah shreyase.

May this lotus of the Mahabharata, born in the lake of the words of Vyasa (Son of Parashara), with intense sweet fragrance of the essense of Gita, with many stories as its stamens, fully opened by the discourses on Hari, the destroyer of the effects of Kaliyuga, and drunk joyously by the bees of good men in the world, day by day become the bestower of good to us.

मूकं करोति वाचालं पङ्गुं लङ्घयते गिरिम् ।

यत्कृपा तमहं वन्दे परमानन्दमाधवम् ॥ ८॥

Mookam karoti vaachaalam , pangum lankayathe girim

Yath krupa thaham vandhe Paramananda madhavam.

I bow down to Sri Krishna, the source of all joy, whose compassion brings speech from the lips of the dumb and carries the lame over mountains.

यं ब्रह्मा वरुणेन्द्ररुद्रमरुतः स्तुन्वन्ति दिव्यैः स्तवैः वेदैः साङ्गपदक्रमोपनिषदैः गायन्ति यं सामगाः ।

ध्यानावस्थिततद्गतेन मनसा पश्यन्ति यं योगिनः यस्यान्तं न विदुः सुरासुरगणाः देवाय तस्मै नमः ॥ ९॥

Yam brahmaVaruna indra Rudra marutah sthunvanthi divyai stavai, Vedai saang padakrama upanishadai gayanhi yam Saamagaah

Dhyanasthita tadgatena manasa pasyanti yam Yoginah, Yasyantam na viduh surasura ganaah devaaya tasmai namah.

Salutation to him who is worshipped with divine chants by Brahma, Varuna, Indra , Rudra, Maruta, Who is pleased by singers of Sama Veda by singing Vedas and Upanishads following the word sequence, Who is seen by yogis who are absorbed in him, with their mind merging in him, And whose end is not known even by the hoards of devas and Asuras.

3 i

Matsya

Lord Vishnu had vowed that he would visit the earth whenever Adharma lifts its ugly head. Therefore, when humanity was at stake and when Adharma emerged in the form of a demon named Hayagriva, Lord Vishnu incarnated as a fish. Read on to know more about Shri Vishnu's first avatar, Matsya Avatar in Vishnu Puran.

According to one of the legends associated with the Matsya Avatar of Vishnu, there lived a demon named Hayagriva. He was the son of Sage Kashyapa and his wife, Danu. People hailed sage Kashyapa for being a boon to humanity, but Hayagriva was the exact opposite. The demon was chosen as the Danav Raj (king of the demons). And his sole motive was to stop the humans from becoming more powerful than the Danavs.

Hayagriva wanted to establish the Danav clan as the most superior one. Therefore, he made several attempts to disrupt the progress of the human class. And after learning that Lord Vishnu had handover the four Vedas to Lord Brahma, he decided to steal them to stop the sacred texts from reaching the humans.Hayagriva succeeded in stealing Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharva Veda from Brahmaloka. And therefore, to free the Vedas from his clutches, Lord Vishnu appeared as a fish.

Brahma knew that the people on earth will not be able to make use of the Vedas until they are purified. He knew that social values had degenerated, and hence, the need for reestablishing humanity had risen. Therefore, he sought help from Shiva to destroy humanity only to produce a conducive atmosphere for a revival of the human race.

Vishnu knew about Shiva's plan to cause massive floods. Therefore, he incarnated in the form of Matsya (a fish). Moreover, he had to save Manu and his wife Shatarupa, the couple that would be instrumental in conceiving humans once again.Hence, after killing Hayagriva and retrieving the Vedas, the Matsya avatar of Vishnu saved Manu, Shatarupa, the Saptarishis (who represented knowledge) and one set of each of the other living beings. In the end, he handed over the Vedas to Manu so that he could use them for the welfare of humankind.

 

Kurma

The Devas symbolised Dharma while the Danavas represented Adharma. 

In one of the battles that took place after Daitya Guru Shukracharya was blessed with the Sanjeevani Mantra, the Daityas (Danavas) defeated the Devas. The victory of the Danavas meant the decline of goodness and peace. Moreover, Lord Vishnu knew that if the Danavas became immortal, then they would overpower the Devas and also cause massive damage to the human race.Therefore, to save humankind from the Danavas, Lord Vishnu took the avatar of a Kurma. And by doing so, he played a pivotal role in the Samudra Mathan. to know what is Samudra Manthan.

Since the Danavas had defeated the Devas in the battle, there arose a need to empower the latter. Therefore, Lord Vishnu suggested Samudra Manthan for extracting the divine nectar (Amrit) that could make the Devas immortal. However, the Devas alone wouldn't have been able to perform the massive task. Hence, Vishnu advised Indra, the King of the Devas to take help from Kalketu, the King of the Danavas.

Interestingly, Vishnu had also hatched a plan to prevent the Devas from consuming the Amrit. Subsequently, to churn the ocean (Samudra), Mandara Mountain was cut from its base and installed in the sea as the churning rod. And Vasuki, the King of Snakes, became the churning rope.

But, since the base of the mountain couldn't reach the seabed owing to the surging movement of the waves, Lord Vishnu decided to make his presence felt in the form of a Kurma. 

Lord Vishnu took the form of a Kurma and went deep inside the sea to carry the Mandara mountain on his back. Thus, by enduring the weight on his back, Lord Vishnu ensured that the churning of the ocean takes place without any hurdles. And by helping the Devas in the endeavour to obtain the Amrit, Lord Vishnu saved the human race.

 

KURMA AVATAR- THE PURANIC STORY

The story starts with a meeting among Sage Durvasaplus Lord Indra. Sage Durvasa as a mark of esteem offers a circlet of flowers toward Lord Indra. The monarch of Gods, Lord Indra who is placed on his elephant, Airavata, takes the circlet of flowers plus places it on the forehead of the elephant. The elephant takings the garland as well as throws it downcast on the earth.

The chief of mentors Durvasa, annoyed at this discourteous treatment of his gift, announces to the King of Gods that his realm will be ruined.Fate acts to accomplish the words of Sage Durvasaplus the Asuras (demons) announce war on the Gods.  The Gods want to taste the fluid of immortality plus approach Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu counsels the Gods to churn the sea along with the Demons as well as offer them a part of nectar as well.

The MandaraMountain is toward be used to the mixing stick as well as the snake Vasuki is the mixing rope. But when the churning starts, the alp starts drowning in the sea as there is no provision base to retain it afloat. It is then Lord Vishnu seized the shape of the tortoise (Kurma Avatar) toward keeping the alp afloat. It is Kurma avatar, the tortoise that goes under the mountain as well as stops it from dipping.An incarnation of Vishnu, the opponent of disease, he brought by him Ayurveda, Divinity of fortune Lakshmi, Tonic of immortality Amrita, as well as the poison Halahal.The Divinity Lakshmi selects Vishnu and thus selects. the Gods above the demons. The Gods renovated with their vigor plus energy fight the Asurasover and succeed over them.

Varaha

After taking the Matsya (fish) avatar and Kurma (tortoise) avatar, Lord Vishnu transformed into a boar to save Mother Earth from drowning in the cosmic ocean. Therefore, he took his third avatar, Varaha to protect the planet Earth from a demon named Hiranyaksha, who had stolen the planet.

Hiranyaksha was an Asura, who was a Dwarpala or gatekeeper of Lord Vishnu's abode, Vaikuntha, in his previous birth. The Sanat Kumaras cursed him and his brother for not allowing them to meet Shri Vishnu. The four Kumaras pleaded the two brothers to let them step inside, but Vijaya and Jay arrogantly refused them permission. However, after getting cursed, when Vijaya and Jay urged the Sanat Kumaras to show mercy, they were told that they would attain Moksha only after getting killed at the hands of Lord Vishnu in their future births. Thus, by doing so, that made them realise that one must not misuse their powers. Vijaya and Jay were proud of the fact that they were the gatekeepers of Lord Vishnu. Hence, they believed that they had the right to deny anyone permission to enter Vaikuntha.Therefore, Vijaya was born, and Hiranyaksha and Jay took birth as Hiranyakashipu. The two brothers created havoc in the three worlds - Deva Loka, Prithvi Loka and Patal Loka. They grew so greedy that they wanted to become more powerful than the Gods.

Hiranyaksha grew very powerful and complacent. He started misusing his powers and wanted to rule the world. He caused massive devastation and even stole Mother Earth (Bhuma Devi) and hid her under the cosmic ocean. Therefore to save the Earth, Lord Vishnu appeared as a Varaha (wild boar). He lifted the Earth with his tusks after eliminating Hiranyaksha. Thus, by taking the form of a boar, Lord Vishnu showed how gradually evolution took place. First was Matsya (an underwater being), then came tortoise, an amphibian, followed by Varaha, a land animal.Varaha, the boar, is third in the Dashavatara, the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu. Varaha is the symbol of the restoration of the earth and the establishment of a new age. In the Vishnu Purana, Varaha is represented as the eternal upholder of earth. He is known as the picture of the Supreme Being who brings order amidst chaos in the world.According to the oldest of the Puranic scriptures, the legend is as follows:The gate-keepers of Vishnu's dwelling Vaikuntha, Jaya and Vijaya were cursed by the four Kumaras to be born as demons. They were then born on earth as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu to Kashyapa and his wife Diti. They were one of the races of demons called Daityas. The two demon brothers were pure evil and created mayhem all across.The elder brother Hiranyaksha practised austerities and as a consequence was blessed by Brahma with a boon that made him indestructible by any animal or human. He was engaged in war with the gods. He took the earth in the depths of primitive waters. In some versions, the earth gives a cry of agony; in others, she takes the form of a cow and requests Lord Vishnu for rescue from the hands of the demon. In his boon, Hiranyaksha had not included the boar in the list of animals that could kill him. Therefore, Lord Vishnu incarnates into Varaha, a boar, with huge tusks and goes down to the ocean.Varaha challenges Hiranyaksha for a battle. The demon ridicules Varaha and obstructs him to rescue earth. Varaha lifts the earth on his tusks, when provoked and slays the demon after a thousand-year battle. Afterwards, Varaha rises from the ocean with the earth in his tusks and places her gently above it in her original position.